Dan Hardy

A matchup against willing strikers Dan Hardy and Duane "Bang" Ludwig has been signed for UFC 146, which is slated to take place on May 26 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

UFC officials announced the bout earlier today. The matchup will likely be part of the event's televised pay-per-view main card. It is expected to be headlined by Junior dos Santos' first heavyweight title defense against Alistair Overeem.

Hardy will look to snap a four-fight losing streak, which features a failed title bid against Georges St. Pierre as well as defeats at the hands of Carlos Condit, Anthony Johnson and Chris Lytle in his most recent fight. Ludwig had a two-fight win streak ended against Josh Neer, who put Ludwig to sleep with a guillotine choke at UFC on FX 1 last month.

The UFC is set for its first-ever trip to Seattle, Washington for UFC Fight Night 24, which will be headlined by a light heavyweight bout pitting undefeated rising prospect Phil Davis against world-ranked seasoned veteran Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.

UFC Fight Night 24 also features a pivotal welterweight clash between heavy hitters Dan Hardy and Anthony Johnson as well as a highly-anticipated rematch between Leonard Garcia and Chan-Sung Jung.

The event's main card will air live on Spike TV this evening starting at 10 PM ET. Five preliminary bouts will also stream live on Facebook beginning at 7:30 PM ET.

A key matchup between former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz and ranked contender Antonio Rogerio Nogueira has been officially announced as the headliner for UFC Fight Night 24, which will serve as the UFC’s first trip to Seattle, WA on March 26.

Ortiz will need a win in order to keep his UFC career alive. Once a longtime holder of the promotion’s 205 lb. title, Ortiz has dropped four out of his last five bouts and hasn’t won a fight since defeating Ken Shamrock twice in a row back in 2006.

Nogueira had a seven-fight win streak snapped at the hands of Ryan Bader at UFC 119 in September. Prior to that, “Little Nog” racked up victories over the likes of Jason Brilz, Luiz Cane and Vladimir Matyushenko.

Mike Swick has reportedly been tapped as an injury replacement for Dong-Hyun Kim and will likely face fellow UFC welterweight contender Dan Hardy in the co-main event of UFC 105, which will take place on November 14 in Manchester, England.

Details regarding Kim’s injury are unknown at this time according to Mike Chiapetta of MMA FanHouse, which received the news in a text message from UFC President Dana White.

Two of the UK’s biggest MMA stars will likely be in action when the Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to Manchester, England for UFC 105 on November 14.

According to Fighters Only Magazine, Michael Bisping will reportedly attempt to bounce back from a devastating knockout loss to Dan Henderson against longtime veteran Denis Kang. Rising UFC welterweight contender Dan Hardy could also put a six-fight winning streak on the line against undefeated Koran striker Dong Hyun Kim.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship yesterday announced four additional bouts for its inaugural trek to Germany for UFC 99 on June 13. A pair of welterweights matchups will now grace the televised portion of the card: Mike Swick vs. Ben Saunders and Marcus Davis vs. Dan Hardy. Also revealed was a lightweight fight between Dennis Siver and Dale Hartt and a heavyweight clash involving Stefan Struve and Denis Stojnic. [UFC.com]

A 155 lb matchup between rising British lightweight prospect Paul Kelly and “Ultimate Fighter 8” alumnus Roli Delgado will reportedly also be added to UFC 99 in the coming days. The fight will be the first at lightweight for Kelly, who spent his previous nine career fights competing at welterweight, where he last defeated Troy Mandaloniz via unanimous decision in February. [MMA Weekly]

Canadian veteran Jonathan Goulet will reportedly return to action at UFC 100 in July against Dong-Hyun Kim. Goulet has not fought since suffering a quick TKO loss to Mike Swick at the UFC’s “Fight for the Troops” event last December because of a lingering knee injury. Kim suffered his first professional loss at UFC 94 in January, dropping a split decision to Karo Parisyan. [MFight News]

In a fight in which the loser may find himself on his way out of the UFC, former standout amateur wrestler Matt Grice will apparently take on Shannon Gugerty at UFC 100 in July as well. Both fighters are coming off recent losses. Grice fell to Matt Veach at February’s UFC Fight Night 17 in his first fight in over a year while Gugerty was last submitted by Spencer Fisher at UFC 90 last October. [MMA Weekly]

In the above video courtesy of Fighters Only Magazine, British welterweight sensation Dan Hardy discusses his upcoming bout against Miletich Fightinh Systems product Rory Markham at UFC 95, which takes place this Saturday at the O2 Arena in London, England.